It will be criminally negligent

To have another poor Summer like the last two in the transfer market. Most of my delight at the result on Sunday stemmed from the fact that I hoped we had a decent chance of keeping the bulk of this special side together. It's one thing for players from top teams to return to their parent clubs to try and breakthrough there, but if some of the best players are going to fellow Championship teams for negligible sums, it's both worrying and disappointing about our ability to attract Championship quality players.

Let's hope the incredible work of the last six months isn't wasted in six poor weeks off the pitch.

 

It's wages, though, innit? Much as I'd love us to keep that squad together, even with the bonus money from promotion, we can't match the salaries being chucked about elsewhere by clubs with wealthy owners wishing to ***** their millions chasing promotion. We shouldn't be ripping up our wage structure - raise the bar certainly - but keep that structure in place. Without it, it's the start of a very rocky road and we'd be royally ******.

 

Yeah, and that's fair enough. Just bitterly disappointing to see such a special side torn apart, innit.

 

Worry has set in less than 72 hours after promotion?

 

Forget billionaire owners, if Bristol get sub-20k crowds then FFP dictates they can't simply pay what they want. But as FA spineless they'd issue a fine....

 

We're very new into this current model. And we've yet to start to experience the part where we lose players because they can be paid much more elsewhere.

But to make the model work, we have to sell players and materialise their value to be reinvested.

I'd love to see this side have a crack at the Championship. But its natural that the side will disband to some degree. If we can keep the core, I think we've a good chance. And momentum and confidence can play a big part in football. if we offered the right money to Hourihane, Winnall and Hammill. I think they'd sign new contracts. But then we'd probably need to sell next year to get good value on them and reinvest for the next cycle of hungry players.

The downside of the loan policy (and why I was so against it year after year) is that it can develop talent for other clubs that you dont get value back from. This year, the loans of Brownhill, Long, Isgrove, and Fletcher absolutely made our season and generated huge value, not to mention a lot of good memories! So my view has changed a little.

But we're now prone to what happened with Drinkwater. And with perm signings, we need to do better than we did with Vaz Te, Butterfield, Shackell, Davies etc

That comes down to the initial contract and terms though, which with a sports lawyer and agent, I think we're much more savvy with. And though we can insert all sorts of clauses, once players get a better offer elsewhere, its really hard to keep them.

If we do have problems this summer, I think its down to whats been pointed out, a distinct lack of time and not knowing what division we'd be in.

 

There's your Brownhill replacement right there.

 

If only! Have a word with him ;-)

 

Right, I'm taking that as a cast iron promise from you that Jacob will definitely sign for us this Summer, Andy, old mate!

 

PLEASE, we'd never hear the end of it!!

 

If it meant Jacob was returning, I could easily put up with it.

 

Is he still any good?
If so, why would he want to come back to us?

 

Adam Hammill has told him it makes perfect sense.

 

Next you'll be telling us Drinkwater is so upset on missing out on the Euros, he wants to return to BFC to give himself a better shot ahead of the World Cup ;-)

 

And I'm taking that as a cast iron promise from you that Danny is returning to the club, old mate!

 

There's only one Danny in my eyes ;-)

 

Don't try wriggling out of it, you've made a cast iron promise!

 

You've been drinking too much sunny delight!

Hows the archaeology coming along?